1 . Until recently, several lines of evidence — from fossils genetics, and archaeology — suggested that humans first moved from Africa into Eurasia (the land of Europe and Asia) about 60,000 years ago, quickly replacing other early human species, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, that they may have met along the way.
However, a series of recent discoveries, including 100,000-year-old human teeth found in a cave in China, have clouded this straightforward statement. And the latest find, a prehistoric jawbone at the Misliya Cave in Israel dating back to nearly 200,000 years ago, which is almost twice as old as any Homo sapiens (智人) remains discovered outside Africa, where our species was thought to have originated from, has added new and unexpected twist.
The find suggests that there were multiple waves of migration across Europe and Asia and could also mean that modern humans in the Middle East were interacting, and possibly mating, with other human species for tens of thousands of years. “Misliya breaks the mould (模式) of existing assumptions of the timing of the first known Homo sapiens in these regions,” said Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in London. “It’s important in removing long-lasting-constraint (限制) on our thinking.”
Prof. Hershkovitz, who led the work at Tel Aviv University said, “What Misliya tells us is that modern humans left Africa not 100,000 years ago, but 200,000 years ago. This is revolution in the way we understand the evolution of our own species.” He also added that the record now indicates that humans probably travelled beyond the African continent whenever the climate allowed it. “I don’t believe there was one big departure from Africa,” he said. “I think that throughout hundreds of thousands of years humans were coming in and out of Africa all the time.”
The discovery means that modern humans were potentially meeting and interacting during a longer period with other ancient human groups, providing more opportunity for cultural and biological exchanges. It also raises interesting questions about the fate of the earliest modern human pioneers. Genetic data from modern-day populations around the world strongly suggest that everyone outside Africa can trace their ancestors back to a group that left around 60,000 years ago. So, the inhabitants of the Misliya Cave are probably not the ancestors of anyone alive today, and scientists can only guess why their branch of the family tree came to an end.
1. What does the underlined word “they” refer to in Paragraph 1?| A．Early human species living in Europe. |
| B．Neanderthals and Denisovans. |
| C．People first moving from Africa into Eurasia. |
| D．Ancient people living in Africa all the time. |
| A．Our ancestors were powerful and kind of aggressive. |
| B．Our ancestors left Africa much earlier than thought. |
| C．The origins of modern humans are from Europe. |
| D．Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans once lived together. |
| A．Climate was a big factor in human migration from Africa. |
| B．There was a large-scale human migration from Africa. |
| C．Human migration was occasional in Africa 200,000 years ago. |
| D．The Misliya find is against our understanding of human evolution. |
| A．They were ancestors of people living in China. |
| B．They left evidence for their mysterious disappearance in history. |
| C．They probably contributed little to present-day people genetically. |
| D．They could be traced by their remains left on their travelling route. |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（ \ ）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分
All the calculations were led to the same conclusion only if you put the sun there did the movements of the other planets make sense. The problem arises because astronomers had noticed that some planets appeared brighter at time and less bright at others. Between 1510 and 1514 Copernicus worked on his new theory, gradual improving it until it was complete. Then he showed it privately for his friends. They encouraged him to publish his ideas, and Copernicus was cautious. He published it as he lay died in 1543. Her theory is now the basis on what all the ideas of universe are built
Before the 1830s, most newspapers were sold through yearly subscriptions(订阅) in America, usually $ 8 to $ 10 a year. Today $ 8 or $ 10 seems a small amount of money, but at that time the amounts were unaffordable to most citizens. Accordingly, newspapers were read almost only by rich people in politics or the trades. In addition, most newspapers had little in them that would appeal to a large audience. They were dull and visually unpleasant. But the revolution that was taking place in the 1830s would change all that.
The trend, then, was toward the “penny paper”---a term referring to papers made widely available to the public. It meant any inexpensive newspaper; perhaps more importantly it meant newspapers that could be bought in single copies on the street.
This development did not take place overnight. It had been possible（but not easy） to buy single copies of newspapers before 1830, but this usually meant the reader had to go down to the printer’s office to buy a copy. Street sales were almost unknown. However, within a few years street sales of newspapers would be commonplace in eastern cities. At first the price of single copy was seldom a penny ---usually two or three cents was charged --- and some of the older well-known papers charged five or six cents. But the phrase “penny paper” caught the public’s fancy soon there would be papers that did indeed sell for only a penny.
This new trend of newspapers for “the man on the street” did not begin well. Some of the early ventures（企业）were immediate failures. Publishers already in business, people who were owners of successful papers, had little desire to change the tradition. It took a few youthful and daring businessmen to get the ball rolling.
1.时间、地点；
2.主讲人；
3.主题及内容。
注意：
1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：兵马俑terracotta warriors
Dear David,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. Where does Thomas Manning work?
| A．In the Guinness Company. |
| B．At a radio station. |
| C．In a museum. |
| A．A bird-shooting trip. |
| B．A visit to Europe. |
| C．A television talk show. |
| A．In 1875. | B．In 1950. | C．In 1955. |
| A．More records of unusual facts. |
| B．The founder of the company. |
| C．The oldest person in the world. |
6 . When the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris (巴黎圣母院) was on fire, it seemed as if the nation had lost a piece of its soul. A similar tragedy took place in 19th century Russia. And the rebuilding effort of the Russians might offer some inspiration for the French.
Standing in the heart of the Russian capital, with 60,000 square meters of floor space and 1,500 rooms, the Winter Palace was among the world’s grandest building. On Dec. 17, 1837, a fire broke out at the Winter Palace. By the morning of Dec.19, only the structure’s framework remained.
For the czar (沙皇) , the fire presented a political challenge. Fearing that Russia's enemies would cast the fire as a blow to the czarist orders, the czar’s supporters quickly worked together to shape the description of the fire in Russia and abroad. They wanted the country to appear united. And they certainly didn't want despair to become the story.
The first full account of the fire was written in French by the poet Petr Viazemskii. A Russian translation appeared two months later. That text and others painted a highly idealized picture of the response to the tragedy. The accounts noted that the czar forcefully directed the fire’s containment. Soldiers were selfless to save the palace. The Russian people felt the loss just as deeply as the czar.
To erase the shame of the fire, the czar set a nearly impossible goal: rebuild the palace within 15 months, and he ordered that rebuilt palace look exactly as it had before.Thousands of workers labored on the construction site. They made rapid progress. On Match 25, 1839, the czar celebrated the rebirth of the Winter Palace.
Outwardly identical to the old version, the new palace featured more iron and brick in its structures---and less wood. It was far less fire-prone than the original.
Notre Dame hasn’t experienced the same level of destruction as the Winter Palace, if the Russian phoenix of 1839 is any indication, there is hope that a renewed Notre Dame will once again grace the banks of the Seine.
1. What do we know about the fire in the Winter Palace?| A．It burnt down 60,000 rooms |
| B．It lasted more than 24 hours |
| C．It was set by Russia’s enemies |
| D．It completely destroyed the palace |
| A．To secure his power |
| B．To challenge his enemies |
| C．To unite French people |
| D．To celebrate his birthday |
| A．The scene of the fire |
| B．The selflessness of the czar |
| C．The Russians’ joint effort to fight the fire |
| D．The ideal result achieved by the Russians. |
| A．To describe a fire at the Winter Palace |
| B．To praise the renewal of the Winter Palace |
| C．We express sympathy for the Notre Dame |
| D．To inspire confidence in rebuilding the Notre Dame. |
One of China’s largest hanfu-themed
Nowadays, hanfu is making a comeback.Tongpao has risen in number over the past 15 years
8 . Happy, angry, amazed—these are some of the emotions we like to express these days when we’re sending a message on our smartphones! That’s why many of us now add little pictures to our texts to brighten up someone’s mobile screen but we’re also using them as a quick way of telling someone how we’re feeling. Yes, emojis (表情符号) have become a popular tool for communication.
The emoji was first invented in Japan in the late 1990s and the word “emoji” comes from the Japanese words for “picture” and “character”. The number of different images has greatly increased since then and now we have a picture for nearly every mood or situation.
Why are emojis widely used today? Professor Vyv Evans says, “Increasingly, what we’re finding is that digital communication is replacing face-to-face talk in some ways. One of the reasons why emojis are so interesting is that they really do enable us to express our emotional selves much more effectively.”
Another advantage of emojis is that they are an international language—they don’t use words but tell a message with pictures so they can be easily understood whatever your native language is.
But as linguist (语言学家) Neil Cohn says, “To many, emojis are an exciting evolution (进化) of the way we communicate; but to others, they are linguistic Armageddon.” It does show by using emojis, there is a lot more to our communication than words alone, but does this also mean that the traditional writing will die out one day?
1. What is implied(暗示) in Paragraph 2?| A．The emoji was first invented in Japan. |
| B．The word “emoji” only means “picture” and “character”. |
| C．More and more pictures are used to express our mood today. |
| D．The number of emoji images will increase rapidly in the future. |
| A．Emojis can never be misunderstood. |
| B．Emojis are similar to some native languages. |
| C．Emojis make us communicate more effectively. |
| D．Emojis can replace face-to-face communication. |
| A．The power of languages. |
| B．The beauty of languages. |
| C．The development of languages. |
| D．The disappearance of languages. |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
9 . Lost cities that have been found
The White City
In 2015, a team of explorers to Honduras in search of"the Lost City of the Monke God"led to the discovery of the White City. They found the ruins in the Mosquitia region of the Central American country which is known for poisonous snakes, vicious jaguars and deadly insects. It is believed that local people hid here when the Spanish conquerors(征服者) occupied their homeland in the16th century.
Canopus and Heracleion
Modern researchers were teased by the ancient writings about the Egyptian cities Canopus and Heracleion- where Queen Cleopatra often visited. But the cities weren’t found until 1992, when a search in Alexandria waters found that the two cities had been flooded for centuries. Artifacts(史前器物) showed that the cities once highly developed as a trade network, which helped researchers piece together more about the last queen of Egypt.
Machu Picchu
A Yale professor discovered "the Lost City in the Clouds"in 1911. A combination of palaces, plazas, temples and homes, Machu Picchu displays the Inca Empire at the height of its rule. The city, which was abandoned in the 16th century for unknown reasons,was hidden by the local people from the Spanish conquerors for centuries keeping it so well preserved.
Troy
The ancient city of Troy in homer's The Iliad was considered a fictional setting for his characters to run wild. But in 1871, explorations in northwestern Turkey exposed nine ancient cities layered (层叠) on top of each other, the earliest dating back to about 5,000 years before. It was later determined that the sixth or seventh layer contained the lost city of Troy and that it was actually destroyed by an earthquake, not a wooden horse.
1. Why did people hide in the White City in the 16th century?| A．To survive the war |
| B．To search for a lost city. |
| C．To protect their country. |
| D．To avoid dangerous animals |
| A．The White City |
| B．Canopus and Heracleion |
| C．Machu Picchu |
| D．Troy |
| A．It was built by Homer. |
| B．It consisted of nine cities |
| C．It had a history of 5,000 years |
| D．It was ruined by a natural disaster. |
The Committee to Protect Journalists(CPJ) has reported that Syria was the most dangerous place for journalists in 2015. 13 reporters were killed in a state that has been suffering from civil war. Sudan, Bangladesh and Brazil are among other countries in which journalists were killed. Many of them were sent to cover civil wars, corruption and human rights issues.
In addition, several journalists were kidnapped(绑架) and are still being held in prison. The most typical is a Washington Post journalist who has been imprisoned in Iran for over one and a half years On Wednesday he will spend his 527th day in prison, taken away not only freedom but also justice. At the end of 2015, 199 journalists were held in prison in 28 countries around the world, including Egypt and Turkey.
Media experts believe that criminals and militant(激进的) organizations are becoming more and more threatening towards journalists. In the past vehicles that were marked with a PRESS sign got more protection and were not targeted. Although western countries are strongly against it when something happens to journalists, there is often nothing they can do about it. Warring sides sometimes use kidnapped journalists to get media attention.
1. How many journalists died during the attack on Charlie Hebdo?
| A．8. | B．13. | C．69. | D．119. |
| A．Most journalists were killed in Sudan. |
| B．A committee has been found to protect journalists. |
| C．The Washington Post journalist was kidnapped three years ago. |
| D．Western countries work well in protecting journalists. |
| A．To be better protected. | B．To draw media attention. |
| C．To show their anger. | D．To call for help. |
| A．Fighting for Terrorist Groups | B．Keeping off the Killings |
| C．A Dangerous Year for Journalists | D．Dangerous Places for Journalists |
